Have you painted your kitchen cuboards successfully

[cleo333]

Hello we are renovating our house and have bought a second hand kitchen but I’m not sure if I like the colour . Have you painted yours , how did you do it and does it last well ?

I'm in the process of getting quotes to have mine painted which are in the region of £2.5k in London vs £3.5k to buy new doors + cost of fitter.

I searched mumsnet and whilst some people say they painted their kitchen and it looks great a much larger proportion said it was VERY hard work hence why I'm going down the paid route!

I painted mine when I first moved into my house in 2019. There’s some scratch marks around the handles but the rest looks as good as the day I painted it.

Yes, very happy with them.
Lasted very well.

Painted one of ours this spring, and has stood up better than expected in a holiday let, time will tell. As with all forms of painting, preparation is everything... Electric "mouse" sander and hand sanding to prepare, mini roller to apply

I've painted several of our kitchens over the years, although the first three or four were bought new and came primed ready to paint.

We recently bought some second hand in-frame oak cabinets (mostly pan drawers) which were already painted a dark green. We're combining these with a few reclaimed 1960s cabinets from the existing kitchen (white when we purchased the house) and I'm painting them all in Edward Bulmer eggshell.

Rub down lightly, prime/undercoat and two/three coats of eggshell. I apply using decent brushes (Purdy if DH let's me use his!) and haven't had any issues with chipping or peeling.

Yes we did ours about 4 years ago and they still look good. There are a couple of small patches where fingernails have scratched near the handles but that’s all. Will probably do another coat on those doors at some point.

We used B&Qs V33 cupboard paint and did four layers with a small fine roller. Took hours but only cost about £70. Transformed the kitchen from beech veneer to white and it looks a billion times better.

Yes, painted them April 2020. It was a lot of work but it's a massive kitchen (which is why replacing it wasn't financially an option) and it wasn't like I had anything else to do at the time 😬

Light sand, sugar soap, 3 coats of chalk paint. Cost me £40 in paint and a week of my time

I touch up around the most used handles every year or so.

We've painted ours several times. DH recently repainted them. It took him 4 days. But they look great. Usually need redoing about every 4-5 years.

£2.5k?!

I’ll come and do it for £2k!

What paint did you use to do three coats of a massive kitchen for £40? Ours is not a massive kitchen and DH only did 2 coats but paint still came to about £90. Nothing fancy, just Dulux.

Yes we used rustoleum cupboard paint and we slightly sanded then primed using zinsser primer and they can mark along the top where the cupboard hit the work top as it closes but apart from that we can scrub them and they are generally chip and knock safe. If they do mark just a quick top up on the mark and they look new again

2 tins of frenchic - the one for outside wood.

No, I've never tried painting the doors, but did have the doors replaced. I realise this isn't your question, but its another option to consider. Places like DIY kitchens or B&Q might have door options that work out cheaper than the paint and time to paint them.

We did this a few years ago where the carcasses were fine, but the doors were dated and the plastic coating had melted near the oven. People thought we'd redone the entire kitchen, not just the doors.

I haven't but I know your success rate is going to depend on what they currently are made of.

If they are already painted wood then a sand and paint will prob work. If they are vinyl wrapped then I think it might not go so well.

I did paint a laminate worktop so far successfully to repurpose into a desk. If it's a tricky surface then several coats of Zinesser 123 primer first will be your best chance.

Honestly though, how much is your time worth compared to buying new doors from some where like DIY kitchens.

I have recently done mine and love the finished result, time will tell how well it holds up.

Mine are wood which had been painted before so I used a mouse sander then gave them a good clean with sugar soap, then primed and painted them. I used a foam roller and small brush for the grooves, only took 2 coats of paint and had loads left over but it is a small kitchen.

I had a v good quality 25 year old kitchen and would never have matched the quality with a new one that was within my budget. Instead, we had the cupboards sprayed by a company I had seen someone recommend on here. They used some kind of specialist spray coating which is very tough and the result is pretty good; it cost me under £2k. We changed the handles and replaced the workshops and backsplash too and I think most people would assume it was a new kitchen.

I painted my last kitchen three times - first pale taupe, then dark blue, then pink. Time consuming but I did it gradually so it didnt get too overwhelming. The trick is to clean really well, light sand, then as many coats as needed but taking care to leave a good long drying time between coats. Then treating it with kid gloves for a week or two to allow full curing.

I never had chipping or scratching. It seems to me crazy to pay so much for such a simple job.

Oh, I never took the doors off either. Not necessary.

I have, but they were solid wood, so it was no harder than painting a piece of furniture.

I did mine. The key to success is prep. Sanding and primer are essential. Use a little foam roller for it. Two coats of varnish (I used a low sheen one). Came out very well. (Navy blue on what were raw solid oak cupboards)

Following

Wasn't sure what it would be like but we are extremely happy with our results (after rejecting a £1750 quote). Used Rustoleum cupboard paint, very light sanding and sugar soap cleaning followed by two coats. Did most of them by removing from hinges but in the end found that a complete waste of time and did the final ones hanging (so much easier and similar results). Did all the whites in one weekend. Also ended up vinyling the workbench which has transformed the kitchen.

I repainted mine. Undercoat and top coat from Little Greene. Top coat was their Tom’s oil finish (more of an outdoor paint but it’s hard wearing). Did it 5 years ago, not a scratch to be seen.

It’s a faff to do, but well worth it with how much you save. If the bones of your kitchen are good, then worth doing - you can really transform the room for little cost.

I used Wilkinson cupboard & furniture paint and mines lasted 4 years so far, still looks lovely & it's been easy to clean

I have painted lots of doors in our house but not the kitchen cupboards doors
as they were gloss fronts. I know it’s not what you asked but another option is vinyl wrapping, which I did with ours. The proper dc fix stuff is tough wearing and ours still look good as the day I did them, 5 years on.
if you’ve never vinyl wrapped it can take some time to get used to, but there’s lots of tutorials on YouTube etc.
much easier than faffing with paint.

How are people changing handles if they change the kitchen colour? I can't find any new bar handles for the drawers in the same size (240mm hole width in brass) and I don't want to make new holes in all the drawers as it will be very visible where they have been filled.